1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a method (a) for treating a medical patient to prepare the patient for surgical procedures involving the heart, lungs, veins, arteries or other vital organs, which procedures are accompanied by cardiac trauma, i.e., ischemia, and (b) for treating a medical patient experiencing cardiac trauma. The invention provides for introducing an effective dosage of pyruvate into the patient's bloodstream prior to and/or during the cardiac trauma.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pyruvate and mixtures of pyruvate with dihydroxyacetone have been described for a number of beneficial results:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,057 describes oral administration of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to prevent excessive accumulation of fatty deposits in a mammal liver due to ethanol ingestion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,835 describes oral administration of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to reduce an expected weight gain from a given diet or to induce a weight loss in a mammal. The patent also describes oral administration of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to athletes prior to strenuous athletic events to increase endurance and/or performance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,575 describes oral administration of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to increase the body protein concentration in a mammal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,937 describes oral administration of pyruvate to a mammal to induce a weight loss or reduce an expected weight gain from a given diet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,764 describes oral administration to a living being of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone to induce a weight loss or to reduce an expected weight gain from a given diet and for inhibiting body fat while increasing body protein concentration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,478 describes oral administration of dihydroxyacetone to an animal to induce a weight loss or to reduce an expected weight gain from a given diet.
These described results of oral administration of pyruvate and pyruvate with dihydroxyacetone are of great interest for medical patients who ingest ethanol; medical patients having fatty liver deposits or tendencies toward fatty liver deposits; medical patients who are obese or have a tendency toward obesity; normal subjects desiring to lose body weight or to retard body weight increase; normal patients, particularly athletes, who desire to increase endurance; and medical patients having diabetic tendencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,790 describes the use of pyruvate as a treatment for patients having diabetic tendencies.
The use of pyruvate to treat ischemia and to increase inotropism in hearts has been described:
K. E. SOMMERS et al, PYRUVATE IMPROVES POSTISCHEMIC MIOCARDIAL FUNCTION AND ATP RECOVERY: A 31P NMR SPECTROSCOPY STUDY, SURGICAL FORUM VOL XLI, 1990, pages 241-3; PA0 R. M. MENTZER, JR. et al, EFFECT OF PYRUVATE ON REGIONAL VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN NORMAL AND STUNNED MYOCARDIUM, ANN. SURG. May 1989, pages 629-634; PA0 ROLF BUNGER et al, PYRUVATE-ENHANCED PHOSPHORYLATION POTENTIAL AND INOTROPISM IN NORMOXIC AND POSTISCHEMIC ISOLATED WORKING HEART, EUR. J. BIOCHEM, Feb. 1989, pages 221-233.
It is an object of this invention to increase the cardiac output of a human in need thereof without concurrently increasing the cardiac oxygen demand of the human.